Can I Tape My Business Card to Your Wall?

Imagine going into a prospect or customer’s office and taping your business card to their wall or the corner of their desk? Chances are you’d find your yourself being escorted out of their office by security with a firm invitation not to come back…ever!

Now imagine your customer voluntarily putting your contact information on their wall and referring to it on a daily basis. Sound far-fetched? If your contact information is printed on a calendar; be it a wall, desk, pocket or magnetic calendar, chances are your customer will find a place to give it a home The reality is that even though we use the electronic calendars on our computers and phones, the paper calendar is still one of the most cost-effective promotional products you can purchase.

Here are a few statistics that may surprise you:

98% of all homes and virtually 100% of all businesses have at least one calendar.

The typical person has 2.5 calendars in their working area and/or home.

87% of householders and 94% of business recipients recall the advertising message displayed on their calendar.

Recipients say if they weren’t given a calendar they would purchase one from a retail outlet.

You can choose from hundreds of stock calendars with themes and pictures such as food, sports cars, big rigs, medical, Americana, lighthouses, airplanes, homes, beaches, Norman Rockwell, Native Americans, motorcycles, wildlife and the list goes on and on. Stock calendars have several areas you can customize with your contact information.

Better yet, for reasonable minimum quantities, you can create a custom calendar using your own look and design, photographs you choose and copy throughout to tell your company’s story. Add coupons that can be used throughout the year by the recipient’s. And I guarantee you people don’t throw things out that have their name on them so use variable data printing to personalize each and every calendar with the recipient’s name. Use your imagination and think of a custom calendar as a blank slate. Be Van Gough, Andy Warhol or Ansel Adams and create a beautiful and usable calendar that people will keep and refer to every day.

If you’re looking for inspiration go to your local book store and look through the rows of retail calendars and see what’s selling. Also notice the retail price on those calendars; from $10 to $25. Keep in mind if you produce 5,000 custom calendars for your company chances are you’ll be able to get them for $5.00 or less. Let’s say your client refers to that calendar you give them once a day every day for the next year (most likely they’ll look at it multiple times each day), your cost per exposure is just about a penny per view. Not to mention the long-term exposure your message gets which tends to build trust with your customer in a non-invasive way.

Calendars are a wonderful way to advertise your message in places you couldn’t pay for no matter how deep your pockets. Calendars continue to be a great advertising investment and now is the best time to start working on your 2011 calendar. Place your orders now and we can have the factory hold them for you until the fall or whenever you’re ready to pass them out.

I’d love to work with you in developing a calendar for your company, be it custom or stock, and show you what a great investment they be will for many years to come.

With 24 years in promotional marketing, Steve Woodburn works with clients to develop creative and measurable solutions that solve their marketing needs using promotional products, uniform programs, online company stores, point-of-sale initiatives and rewards and recognition. He builds long-term relationships and becomes a trusted advisor and consultant his clients can turn to for all their brand extension needs. You can reach him at: stephen.woodburn@staplespromoproducts.com